The Daily Fuckup

A federal appeals court on March 2 refused to give the Trump administration extra time before the tariff-refund case goes back to the lower courts, keeping the litigation on track after the Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 ruling that IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs at issue. The order did not resolve refund eligibility, amounts or timing. It dealt with procedure: the government had asked for a 90-day delay before the mandate issued and the case returned on remand.

The Supreme Court’s decision was the substantive blow. In a consolidated tariff case, the justices held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president power to impose the tariffs challenged in the case. The court vacated the judgment in one matter and affirmed the other, leaving the refund fight and other follow-on issues for lower courts to sort out.

That is where the March 2 order matters. By denying the delay request, the appeals court removed one obstacle to the next phase of the case. It did not decide who qualifies for repayment, whether refunds will be automatic, or what process the Court of International Trade will use if money has to go back.

For importers, the practical stakes remain the same: the tariffs are no longer propped up by the Supreme Court’s reading of IEEPA, but the mechanics of getting paid back are still unresolved. The next round is likely to turn on the scope of the affected entries, the paperwork customs officials will accept, and how the lower courts handle the government’s remaining arguments.